LISTENING 1: What is a “carol”? I encourage you to think of the word "carol" in broad terms, representing many genres/styles including Renaissance, folk, pop, electronica, jazz, rock, and more. In class we'll be playing many examples and I'll be interested in your reaction to what you hear.
LISTENING 3: Since the holiday CD project is several years old, we can look back at past year's tracks to get a vision for what we need to do. In addition to listening to some of the most successful tracks, we'll try to listen to at least one that didn't quite live up to its potential. In both cases, I'll be interested in what you hear in these projects. Are you listening critically, as a producer would yet, or do you still just listen passively? I'm especially intersted in your perceiving things like:
Musical Form - Intro, Verse, Chorus (Refrain), Bridge, Repeats, Outro, and more.
Signal and Mix - Are the levels where they need to be to make the piece effective? Is there distortion? If so, why?
Length and Proportion - Does the song move forward as it should or does it dwell on a section too long? Is the entire song too short or too long?
Instrumental (and Vocal, if appropriate) Color - Does the creator bring together some cool, evocative timbres? Do they play off one another in well-thought out or novel ways?
Layering and the 100% Rule - Is there a narrative to follow based on who's playing and when?
TASK: We'll listen to a bunch of tracks from past CDs as a class. In response, I want you to listen critically, addressing some of the above items.
HERE ARE SHORT CLIPS of some of my favorite tracks from past years:
Download the assigned track (click on file, then click on the DOWNLOAD BUTTON) and make a 40 second sound clip [20 points]. HERE'S HOW: Drop the file into GarageBand's Track Window, choose the 40 second excerpt (cut the rest), and add an automated fade in and fade out). Finally, export the clip as an MP3 file to share.
Here are direct links to some of those tracks in case you can't get into the Dropbox Folder. For these, Control-Click on the title, then choose "Save File As..."):
LISTENING 4: Marrying a holiday "tune" to a "groove" that you create is the first, and most important, creative problem you'll need to solve. If you pick the right groove for your tune, the arrangement will almost write itself! To understand just what a groove is, and its importance in an arrangement or production, listen to episode 21, "Get Your Groove On," of the podcast, What Music Means to Me. The podcast guide is here.
Grooves are easy to assemble when working with LOOPS in GarageBand, but you can also perform parts of your groove yourself.
Often grooves are built one element at a time (i.e. first the drums, then the bass, then keyboard, etc.)
The tune may begin and the groove comes later, or the tune and the groove may appear together. There are many other ways your song might develop.
PRE-ARRANGING: Before you actually sit down and start producing a track for the CD, you need to decide what song you are going to produce. If you need SHEET MUSIC for a tune, an excellent source is a church or synagogue hymnal (songbook). Another source you may find helpful is FREE CHRISTMAS CAROL SHEET MUSIC (http://www.christmas-carol-music.org/). You might also want to begin from a MIDI file; there are many at the "Hymns & Carols of Christmas" website. Choosing a tune is HUGE, maybe the biggest decision you'll make in terms of determining how your project evolves. Here are some factors I suggest considering:
Do you have a holiday/winter song that you really, really like? There is no substitute for authentic interest and/or passion when it comes to making art (which is what you're doing).
Can you audition tunes on your major instrument (piano, guitar, voice, etc.)? If you play or sing well, or even adequately, it will help you get a vision for the possibilities of a tune if you play around with it, improvise with it, spend some time with it on your main instrument.
Get together with a friend and "jam" with a tune or two: one of you play the melody while the other sets up an accompanying "groove."
Remember, you must either use a public domain tune, or write your own song to use. Writing your own tune is tricky, especially if it involves lyrics, so check with me first if this is your intention. To investigate whether or not a tune is "in the public domain" (meaning it is fair game to appropriate for commercial use), go to the following website: PUBLIC DOMAIN SONG SEARCH (http://www.pdinfo.com/list.htm).
ARE YOU DONE PRE-ARRANGING? You are ready for the next stage when you've selected a tune to use and devised a groove to go with it. Share your idea for your track of the Holiday CD with your teacher and others in the class for feedback and suggestions.
HOLIDAY CD PRE-PRODUCTION [Holiday CD HOME]
LISTENING 1: What is a “carol”? I encourage you to think of the word "carol" in broad terms, representing many genres/styles including Renaissance, folk, pop, electronica, jazz, rock, and more. In class we'll be playing many examples and I'll be interested in your reaction to what you hear.
LISTENING 2: Two episodes of the What Music Means to Me podcast review past years' Holiday CD projects. I want you to listen to each: Special Edition 2013 Holiday CD Project, and Special 2011 Holiday CD Edition .
LISTENING 3: Since the holiday CD project is several years old, we can look back at past year's tracks to get a vision for what we need to do. In addition to listening to some of the most successful tracks, we'll try to listen to at least one that didn't quite live up to its potential. In both cases, I'll be interested in what you hear in these projects. Are you listening critically, as a producer would yet, or do you still just listen passively? I'm especially intersted in your perceiving things like:
TASK: We'll listen to a bunch of tracks from past CDs as a class. In response, I want you to listen critically, addressing some of the above items.
HERE ARE SHORT CLIPS of some of my favorite tracks from past years:
HERE ARE FULL LENGTH RECORDINGS OF OTHER TRACKS
Download the assigned track (click on file, then click on the DOWNLOAD BUTTON) and make a 40 second sound clip [20 points].
HERE'S HOW: Drop the file into GarageBand's Track Window, choose the 40 second excerpt (cut the rest), and add an automated fade in and fade out). Finally, export the clip as an MP3 file to share.
Here are direct links to some of those tracks in case you can't get into the Dropbox Folder. For these, Control-Click on the title, then choose "Save File As..."):
LISTENING 4: Marrying a holiday "tune" to a "groove" that you create is the first, and most important, creative problem you'll need to solve. If you pick the right groove for your tune, the arrangement will almost write itself! To understand just what a groove is, and its importance in an arrangement or production, listen to episode 21, "Get Your Groove On," of the podcast, What Music Means to Me. The podcast guide is here.
PRE-PRODUCTION TASK LIST - TURN THIS IN FOR DR. WATSON'S APPROVAL
PRE-ARRANGING: Before you actually sit down and start producing a track for the CD, you need to decide what song you are going to produce. If you need SHEET MUSIC for a tune, an excellent source is a church or synagogue hymnal (songbook). Another source you may find helpful is FREE CHRISTMAS CAROL SHEET MUSIC (http://www.christmas-carol-music.org/). You might also want to begin from a MIDI file; there are many at the "Hymns & Carols of Christmas" website. Choosing a tune is HUGE, maybe the biggest decision you'll make in terms of determining how your project evolves. Here are some factors I suggest considering:
Remember, you must either use a public domain tune, or write your own song to use. Writing your own tune is tricky, especially if it involves lyrics, so check with me first if this is your intention. To investigate whether or not a tune is "in the public domain" (meaning it is fair game to appropriate for commercial use), go to the following website: PUBLIC DOMAIN SONG SEARCH (http://www.pdinfo.com/list.htm).
ARE YOU DONE PRE-ARRANGING? You are ready for the next stage when you've selected a tune to use and devised a groove to go with it. Share your idea for your track of the Holiday CD with your teacher and others in the class for feedback and suggestions.
Vivaldi "Winter" MIDI FIle
RUSSIAN DANCE from "The Nutcracker" (in G Major, 2/4 Time Signature)